Hive-mind
by dawnfang434
Summary: An engineer named Alex Dawson's world is tossed up side down when Xenomorphs attack the colony where he lives. Now he has to decide fight for his new found family or go back to the life he had before. A/N This Story is a revision of my story Alien Friendship.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The author does not own Aliens.

Hive-mind

by

Dawnfang434

_Is thought_

"Is said"

**This Story is a revision of my story Alien Friendship. I own nothing except my OC Alex. If anyone has any suggestions or problems pm me. **

Alex Dawson woke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. Lifting his head he looked over at the clock on his bedside table and groaned. The time was 5:00 AM, a full two hours before he was do at work. With a sigh he glanced at the door debating whether or not to ignore whoever woke him up.

The call of the soft pillows and warm blanket won him over. Turning over he attempted to tune out the noise, and get some more sleep. At least that had been the plan until a muffled female voice yelled through his door. "Open up Alex, I know your in there!" Thump, thump, thump. "Don't make me open it for you!"

His eyes flashed open in surprise. He wondered what was so important SHE would come herself to get him.

Sitting up he swung his legs out of bed, still wearing the pants from yesterday. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he walked barefoot across the room and opened his door.

Standing there was a tall raven-haired woman with a scowl that may or may not be a permanent feature of her face. She wore a fairly plain grey shirt with the Weyland Yutani logo on the sleeve.

Alex could tell something was up, the tense shoulders and the way she glanced around every now and then. She was on edge, but then she wasn't the only one. For the past three days he had been the same, as if something bad was about to happen.

Shaking his head to clear the thought he looked at the women standing at his door.

"What do you need... (yawn) ...So early in the morning, Kara?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Early? Its only five."

Alex sighed, Kara was ex military and she ran her shop like it. Which meant he wasn't about to get any more sleep today. "Not everyone is an early riser like you, you know."

Her scowl deepened. "You know if you weren't so lazy you could have a girlfriend by now."

Raising his arms in submission, he chuckled. "Okay, okay, you win. What do you need?"

"I need you to come in an hour early today."

He yawned, and rubbed his face again. "An hour early?" After a minute of thought he nodded. Alex had known Kara McCreedy for three months and not once had she asked something like this if she didn't need to. "Sure, I guess."

Almost imperceptibly her face relaxed. Anyone else would've missed it, but he had always been able to read peoples moods, almost like a sixth sense. "Good. With this flu going around were a little short handed."

He shrugged and smiled. "It's alright. That just means I get overtime."

One corner of her mouth twitched upward into a small smirk. "Don't push your luck, Alex."

Turning she walked back down the hall. She stopped half way and said over her shoulder. "Hurry up carrot top. Don't want to be late now, do you?"

Closing his door he cursed Kara for using that nickname. She had given it to him two months ago, and it unfortunately stuck. Shaking his head he headed to his bathroom for a shower before work.

Turning the shower on he stepped in and let the warmth of the water clear the rest of the fog from his mind. As it did a sense of dread filled it's place. The same dread he had felt for the past few days. He wasn't even sure where it had come from, but it had gotten stronger over the past few days. That train of thought however imploded as the water went from warm to ice cold.

_Guess it's gonna be one of those days._ He thought as the frigid water ran down his body.

Sighing, he stopped the water and stepped out. Grabbing a towel he dried himself off and dressed in a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Grabbing his jacket and pda he locked his door and headed to Loading bay three.

Ten minutes later Alex walked into the Locker room. Stepping through the door he glanced around. The room only had one other person sitting on a bench. The man was 5'4 with short blond hair with an average build.

Upon seeing the man Alex smirked. "Got you too did she?"

Looking up he gave Alex a tired smile "Yep, but did it have to be so early."

As he approached his locker Alex chuckled. Alex liked Max, if only for his almost always happy mood.

Shrugging Alex clipped on his tool belt. "At lest we get overtime."

Max smiled back. "My thoughts exactly."

Just then a rather girlish scream came from the Loading bay. Looking at the door Alex asked. "What was that?"

Max shrugged "Don't no."

Standing they walked to the door that led to the bay. The site that greeted them as the doors slid open was one both would cherish for all time. One of the trainees had somehow gotten himself stuck in the Power Loader's clamps. At the current moment the clamp was a good twelve feet in the air.

Walking up to the crowd gathered around the Loader Alex tried and failed to hide his laughter. Spotting Kara he pushed through the crowd toward her. Catching sight of the look on his face she glared and said. "Don't even start with me."

With a sigh she rubbed her eyes. "Just get him down."

She was in a foul mood, he didn't need his sixth sense to know that. "Yes mam."

Walking up to the large machine he leaned over the controls. After flicking some switches and buttons it remained unresponsive. Popping open a maintenance panel on the arm he reached in and fiddled around. A minute later the steel clamp opened with a 'creak', freeing the man to fall flat on his face.

Standing he thanked Alex, with a nervous smile. "Thanks, I'd still be in big trouble if you hadn't come along."

A tapping sound brought there attention to see a sight that Alex was sure would haunt the trainee for many nights to come.

Kara stood arms crossed, her face slight red. Alex could actually see the large vein throbbing on her forehead.

Alex placed his hand on the mans shoulder. "I think you still are. Good luck."

With that he slipped away just in time to escape Kara's lecture. "You idiot! You aren't rated for a Loader yet. You're lucky I need all the help I can get. Otherwise you'd be looking for a new job right now."

max winced, she would most likely be yelling at him for the rest of the day. Alex had sympathy for the guy, he had once been on the receiving end of one once. Both men glanced at the other, nether wanted to suffer one again.

With that train of thought he and max got there assignments.

The next eight hours were more or less uneventful. At the current moment Alex was lying under a coolant pipe that fed into the colony reactor. Max was helping him by handing him the replacement parts when he asked for them.

A wave of anger, despair, pain, and loss wash over him. It had been so powerful he hadn't been able to move until it had past. Grimacing he rubbed his now throbbing head.

"Hey, you all right?" Alex shook his head to clear the last of the feelings from his mind.

"Yeah. Just...a headache." he said as he scooped up his wrench and tightened a bolt on the newly replaced pipe. Max looked him over with concern.

"Don't tell me you are coming down with the flu?" Alex stopped what he was doing and looked up.

Shaking his head he frowned. "I don't think so."

Max raised one eyebrow. "Well Kara, would kill us both if you did. Go see the doc, i'll cover for you."

Now it was Alex's turn to smile, he eyed the young man and said. "You sure you aren't just trying to get that monthly bonus?"

Max chuckled as he handed Alex a presser-seal. "A nice thought, but no. I'd just end up getting us both in trouble if that was what I was after. And nether of us want that, trust me."

Max looked at Alex and nodded to the door. "Now go and get some rest before I change my mind." With that, Max started gathering up the tools.

A grateful sigh escaped Alex as he dropped his wrench into a toolbox. "Thanks, I owe you one."

Alex turned to leave, as he did he heard Max mumble "That monthly bonus would be nice."

He chuckled as the door slid closed. Popping his back he walked back to his room. The sound of someone screaming however stopped him in his tracks. It didn't sound like the normal fights that had happened from time to time. He wasn't sure how but he knew who ever screamed was afraid for there life.

Reacting on instinct he ran in the direction of the screams. Another scream led him to a room labeled **ST1**. As far as he knew the room was mainly used for storing various bits of equipment. If someone was in there it was probably to catalog whatever was in there. Looking in, his breath hitched at the site of a hulking black form stood over a body covered in blood.

Shaking in fear he whispered "Xenomorph."

It must of heard him because it turned toward him. With an inhuman shriek it launched itself at him. Grabbing the door he slammed it shut just as it hit, denting the steel door. Turning he ran back the way he came.

He ran down a hall looking for what he wasn't sure. He couldn't believe it, a xenomorph was in the colony.

Passing the rec-room he saw the dead bodies of a few colonists all over. He turned away from the door and threw up. All that blood had been too much for him. His hand trembled as he wiped the vomit from mouth.

Alex had little time to dwell on the death of his coworkers as the sound of hissing came from behind him. Whipping around Alex spotted three black forms start to come around the corner at the end of the hall. Trying not to draw attention he slowly stepped back. Unfortunately the metal grating decided to creak under his feet at that moment.

Hearing the sound of his footsteps all three xeno's looked toward him. The moment they spotted him he took off down the corridor. He didn't want to be lunch for some monster.

He had read about what these things did if they got you. If they didn't outright kill you they turned you into a host for there young, either way you died painfully in the end. He wasn't about to let that happen to him.

Behind him the Xenomorphs were quickly closing in, and he was getting tired. Frantically he looked for a way to stop, or at least delay his pursuers. Spotting a door steel door to his left he made a split second decision and jumped in, locking the door the moment it closed. Alex stepped away just as the xenomorph hit the door.

He jumped back in fear as a large dent formed in the door. Knowing he had only bought himself a minute or two he wasted no time standing around. Spinning around he stopped dead as the sound of hissing caught his attention. The hissing he was hearing wasn't from his pursuers that were even now trying to get in. No, it was coming from this side of the door.

Suddenly a puff of mist drew his attention to a pipe on his left. After closer inspection he found this was where the faint hissing was coming from. A faded yellow tag hung from a large red wheel bolted to the pipe. Grabbing it he read what was written on it and smiled. "**COOLANT RELIEF VALVE**"

A plan was forming in his mind. The hissing was from the steam produced by the reactors cooling system. Months of hard work would go up in smoke...er, steam at what he was about to do, but it would buy him the time he needed. Grabbing the wheel with both hands and screamed in pain.

The steam had heated the wheel to a dangerous level. without gloves he could severally burn his hands. reaching back he found his pair of gloves missing. After a few seconds of weighing his options he decided burned hands were better than death.

Gritting his teeth he grabbed the wheal and turned it, shutting off the pipe. With a groan the pressure in the pipe began to climb. Letting go he stared at his burnt and blackened hands. He didn't have much time to dwell on his new injures as the door began to buckle as the xenos hammered it. Turning Alex ran from what would most likely be a huge explosion of scalding hot steam.

Sensing their prey escaping they pounded against the door with renewed ferocity. A minute later it gave way.

As the door fell Alex was sprinting half way down the hall. With a screech the three aliens resumed there chase. Looking back he swore as he saw them getting closer. Knowing he didn't have much time till the pipe burst he redoubled his efforts.

Seconds after he rounded a corner there was a muted boom, then high pitched shriek as the corridor filled with super heated steam. He didn't even glance back as he neared a second door.

Thankfully it was slightly ajar so he pushed it the rest of the way open. Stepping out he realized he had come out near the med labs. Picking a random direction he started running. Before he had gotten very far the screams of someone ahead of him had him skidding to a stop. Looking around for a place to hide he spotted a door slightly open to his left. Jumping inside he locked the door and slid to the floor.

Sitting against the door he listened as something ran up to the door. A bolt of fear spiked through him as it seemed to pause by the door. Alex froze not daring to even breath, but then it seamed to move on. Letting out a sigh of relief he looked up just in time to see a facehugger leap out of a vent and attached to his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The author does not own Aliens.

Hive-mind

by

Dawnfang434

_Is thought_

"Is said"

_**"Is Queen speech"**_

**Wow! 249 Views! Um... Ch 2**

Alex found himself standing alone in a place he didn't recognize. All around him lay shrouded in a thick shifting mist. It seamed to move as if it had a mind of its own.

Thinking back he tried to remember how he had gotten there. Frowning he found he had little to no memory of the past few days at all. A feeling of uneasiness crept over him.

Pushing it to the back of his mind he looked at his surroundings. Only to see a thick mist still obscuring everything. The only thing he could see clearly was a narrow bricked pathway he was currently standing on.

As far as Alex could remember his current place of work LV-564, had no pathways out side the colony, brick or otherwise. And the closest it had to mist was dust storms. Reaching for his pda he found that he not only didn't have his pda but he was also missing his jacket.

Turning he looked for any sign of a way out of this sea of fog. To be honest Alex was a little freaked out. It wasn't every day one awoke alone in the middle of a dense fog with no memory of how you got there. From within the fog all around him he heard what he could have sworn sounded like whispering.

Cupping his hands around his mouth he yelled "Hello, anyone out there?"

All he received in response was a distorted "...out there?"

Not seeing anything else to do he started walking down the path. After a few steps down the path indistinct shapes began to appear all around him. They ranged from knee high to almost as tall as a Loader. Stopping Alex looked around, he just couldn't shake the nagging feeling he had been here before.

Walking up to one of the smaller shapes he knelt and examined it. Slowly the mist parted to reveal the most beautiful rosebush Alex had seen. Again it felt somehow familiar to him.

Standing Alex examined his surroundings more closely. The mist still obscured everything but the path and now the bush.

Crossing his arms he thought long and hard on his current situation. At the moment he stood on a brick path next to a small bush surrounded by fog in an yet unknown location.

However the sound of trickling water soon brought him out of his thoughts. Looking in the direction of the sound he wondered why he hadn't herd it until now, but filed it away for later. Turning he followed the sound and soon came across a fountain, at the center of which was the statue of a beautiful Young lady. She wore an old-fashioned armor over her arms, legs and torso, hair tied back in a loose tail. Both her hands rested atop the hilt of a sword embedded in the plinth by her feet. Her face, which was turned to her left had a small happy smile.

Alex starred eyes wide mouth hanging open in shock. He recognized it as the exact same statue his grandfather had one owned. It was a one of a kind piece the old man had been proud of. He had kept it as the centerpiece of his garden on earth. As far as he knew it had been destroyed years ago.

He hadn't been here since his grandfathers funeral. As if his recognition was a gust of wind the mist dispersed. As the shock wore off he smiled. "This must be a dream.", though he couldn't remember having one this real before.

The warm sun light freed from the obscuring fog shined down and reveled the whole garden. Looking around at the carefully tended flowers a wave of nostalgia washed over him. This had been his safe haven, a place he could go to when his father had been drinking when he was a kid.

The rustling of leafs drew him out of his memory's and back to the present. Looking around for the source of the disturbance he spotted a splash of red among the green of the foliage, then in a flash it was gone. Raising an eyebrow he followed it. His footsteps making no sound as he walked on the cracked bricks.

Still smiling turned a corner and found a large wall of green looming before him. Glancing around for a few seconds he attempted to find any signs of where the thing he had been following had gone. Straining his ears to hear if it moves again he heard what sounded like... sobbing? From beyond the bush.

Alex frowned slightly and walked right up to the bush. He knew this particular part of the garden. Pushing some of the brush out of the way he walked into a small clearing. The garden was his haven, but this was where he went to be alone. Heading deeper in he followed the crying.

soon found the source of the crying curled up on the floor in a fetal position his arms wrapped firmly around his legs as his small body heaving with every sob. Alex could see tears staining the ground in the light that managed to pass through the trees above. He couldn't be much older than 11 or 12, with a mop of bright red hair covering his head. Alex frowned slightly, that nagging feeling of familiarity had come back.

Squatting down so he was eye level with the boy he asked. "Hello, little boy?"

The boy just continued to sob without a sign that he had heard Alex at all. Looking closer he noticed a chain that hung around the boys neck, a simple silver chain with a purple crystal hanging from it.

His eyes widened as he instinctively reached for his own, only to find it missing. It had been a gift from his mother, the only one, and this kid had one just like it. That's when he realized this wasn't a dream but a memory, and this 'kid' was him.

Alex frown thought. _Why am in a memory?_

Looking back at the younger him he tried to figure out when this was. Things like this had happened more than once when he had been younger.

Suddenly a voice cut through his thoughts and made his chest tighten in emotion. "Alex. Alex, where are you?"

Turning Alex watched as his grandfather Tristan Dawson walked through the wall of foliage. His heart both swelled and pained as he looked the older man over. He stood tall for a man in his eighty's with short grey hair. He wore a simple white shirt and faded blue overalls. Looking around the mans normally warm features were one of concern.

Spotting the younger Alex he walked over and sat beside him. Almost immediately the child clung to the old man and continued to cry.

Tristan wrapped his arms around the small boy and whispered "It's okay Alex, sshh."

The boys response was muffled by the overalls but was still understandable. "But why? I don't want to move so far away."

Alex remembered this moment, it was the last time he would speak to his grandfather before he died from cancer three years later. Every word that came from his mouth seemed like a dagger to his heart.

Turning the boy to face him by his chin Tristan looked him in the eye and said. "Listen, and listen well son. Friends come and go, that is a fact. But family, true family stays forever. Family is more than blood and more than just a last name. Family are those you care about and who care about you in turn. Those who are willing to risk their life for you, and those you are willing to defend with your own. Protect those dear to you and you will live a happy life. Plus, I will always be here. Promise me you won't forget that."

Slowly the boy nodded.

Quietly the real Alex whispered "I will...Grandfather."

Then as if they were a mirage both faded as did the room he was in. He didn't even notice, he was to busy wiping his eyes.

Suddenly out of nowhere a headache more painful than he had ever felt before slammed into him like a truck. It was more than just pain however, it was pressure. Like someone was trying to stuff a whole cargo ship into the limited space of his skull.

It was all he could do not to scream in pain. Keeping his eyes shut in pain, he dropped to his knees. As if the pain he had suffered hadn't been enough it began to intensify to a point where Alex was sure his head would explode.

Unable to keep it in any longer he screamed, and screamed. Suddenly he felt a presence touch his mind, and like that the pain melted away.

Alex slumped to the ground exhausted and confused. Knowing what others were feeling was nothing new to him. As far as he knew he had been this way from berth. But this was a whole other story. Never before had he felt something so alien. Yet the new presence radiated only warmth and understanding. the presence left his mind. Before he could digest any of the information darkness flooded his mind.

**~*HM*~**

Miles away from the colony in a cage lay a xelomorph Queen surrounded by human scientists. Were it's face not hidden one would catch a glimpse of a smile upon her face.

The smile came from the thought of what she had just done."_**This should prove to be very interesting.**_"

A stinging in her side told her they had injected another drug into her. She could already feel her mind growing unfocused as it began to coursed it's way through her system. They had already injected something that had cut her off from the rest of her hive.

It had taken all she had just to find one mind she could link with, and to her surprise it had been a human."_**This human is different than the others. Hopefully he will come to understand the gift I gave him.**_"

As the darkness consumed her mind her last thought was "_**If he survives that long.**_"


	3. Chapter 3

**AN** _Before I go any further I would like to say that the first and third chapters were inspired by Snowfire1996's story Xeno Survivor. But after this it will be altogether different. Now on to ch3_

* * *

_"__**This human is different than the others. Hopefully he will come to understand the gift I gave him.**__"_

_As the darkness consumed her mind her last thought was "__**If he survives that long.**__" _

**~*HM*~**

Gasping for air Alex awoke in a cold sweat. Slowly he opened his eyes and groaned as the flickering light on the ceiling aggravated his throbbing head. Slowly his surroundings came into focus. His back felt stiff and to top it off his throat was raw. Reaching up he placed a hand on his head, and winced. Looking at his hands he found they were severely burned.

He stared confused at his hands, unable to remember how they had gotten hurt. Now that he thought about it he couldn't remember anything that had happened recently. His first thought was that Max had convinced him to go drinking with him again. But that didn't explain his hands.

Propping himself up on a wall he tried to figure out where he was. A quick look around revealed he was in one of the store rooms located throughout the colony. Letting a hand drop by his side he felt it brush something. Looking down he was shocked to see a facehugger's body on the floor next to him.

The moment his eyes stopped on the spider-like alien he jumped back uttering a string of not too civilized curses. Not reacting to his movement or voice he realized that it was dead.

After a few seconds of staring at it his mind put two and two together. Suddenly it all came back to him. Helping the newbie with the loader, the xenomorph attack, him trapped in the hall, jumping in here then something attacked his face, the dream, even... _IT_.

Reaching a hand up to his chest he whispered "No. Please god no."

As if fate wished to prove him wrong Alex felt something move under his ribs. It wasn't painful but uncomfortable all the same.

Absently laying a hand on his chest as he leaned back. There was no point in denying it their was a xenomorph inside his chest. All his running had been for nothing, they still got him in the end. He couldn't remember how long it took a xenomorph fully mature. But judging from the tightness in his chest he was sure he didn't have long.

Just then his pda beeped. Jumping in surprise he glanced at his pocket. He had forgotten he still had it. Reaching into a pocket he carefully pulled out the device, careful not to aggravate his already hurt hands. Glancing at the display he had to hold back a laugh.

Daily assignment update . . . .

Maintenance is required on Coolant Relief Valve 6 . . .

Maintenance required in Med lab 2 . . .

Malfunction detected in Landing bay door 1 . . .

The list went on but the first two caught his eye. The first because he had been the one to destroy it in the first place. The second because Med lab 2 had an auto surgery tube. He knew because he had been one of the people who helped hook it up. They had received it a month ago in a mixed up shipment. Nobody had bothered to report it in because it took three weeks to get a response this far out in space.

It could perform all kinds of operations including the one needed to remove the thing in his chest.

With new found hope Alex stood and moved to the door. The door silently opened, and he looked out in both directions. Listing for any sign of life he made sure he was alone. After he was sure he was alone he stepped out.

He walked as silently as he could down the hall until he came to a corner. Moving as quietly as possible he looked around the corner. Just because he may not survive the hour didn't mean he had a death wish.

Seeing nothing in the immediate area he stepped out.

Turning the corner he whispered. "I missed one heck of a party."

All the way down the hall the walls were covered in bullet holes and claw marks. Parts of a wall looked like it had been melted by powerful acid. Still others looked to be blown apart by some sort of explosives.

From time to time the lights would flicker as he picked his way over and around the ruble. Despite the obvious battle there were no body's anywhere to be seen. The strange thing was he hadn't seen or even heard anything at all on his way to the med lab. Xenomorphs were known to disappear after an attack, but he had expected at least a few to stay. Now that he thought about it they hadn't taken anyone to be hived that he could see. It was like they hadn't known what to do so they just killed.

He crossed his arms in thought as he walked. _What has them in such a state of disorganization?_

Walking up to a fork in the road and Glanced at the sign. Left was labeled medical storage, right was Med lab 1. Not wasting any time he turned down the right hall.

Eventually, he stopped in front of a pair of double doors, above them, written in blue was "Med Lab-2".

Reaching over to the door controls he pressed it. With a faint hiss the door slid open. The moment the doors opened the automatic lights flickered on. Letting out a sigh of relieve he stepped in. Suddenly something slammed into his back with enough force to knock him off his feet. The air was forced from his lungs as he hit the ground with a grunt.

Flipping over he was greeted with the black form of a xenomorph. It stood over him with it's mouth open and hissing.

Closing his eyes he waited for the inevitable pain that would soon come.

After a minute of not feeling anything pierce his flesh he cracked open an eye. The zen still stood over him, but now had its head over his chest. As it stood there Alex noticed three faint scars running down the side of it's head. With one final hiss it got off him, and tilted its head.

It shook it's head a few times as if it it was confused. After a minuet more of confutation it ran out the open door.

Sitting up Alex was as confused as the xeno, if not more. When a xenomorph was about to kill it didn't stop for anything.

"So why did you?"

At that moment the xenomorph inside him decided to move. He shuddered at the feeling of it wiggling around inside him.

He didn't know what that meant, but it was almost certainly bad for him.

Standing he surveyed the room. It looked like what you'd expect any normal Colony med lab to look like. Bottles of some liquid he couldn't identify were sitting on a shelf. Clipboards hung on a wall by the door. A computer sat on a desk with a half finished email still open. All of this he ignored in favor of a window on the far side of the room. Walking over he peered through the glass.

In the corner of the next room he saw what he was looking for. A big clear tube used for surgery. Pushing open the door he entered the room.

Walking up he activated the pod. Striping off his shirt he climbed in.

A second later it scanned him from head to toe. After it had finished a message scrolled across the display before him.

Foreign object detected . . .

Remove?

Selecting the yes and setting it to remove the alien from his chest he lay back.

After injecting an anesthetic it carefully made an incision above his stomach. A robotic arm then reached in and removed the alien from his chest. The moment it's umbilical cord was severed it started to shriek ans squirm. The machine then placed it into a small pod. Just as carefully as it started the machine sealed the wound.

A beep indicated it had finished. Another message then scrolled across the display in front of him.

Foreign object removed. . .

Do you wish to dispose?

Reaching up his hand hovered over yes, but didn't press. His eyes locked on the small pink xenomorph. It had stopped moving and seemed to look at his hand then right at him. Pressing its face against the glass it looked helpless as it waited for him to to decide. He didn't know how but he knew what it felt, it was afraid.

With one press of a button he could kill it, or free it. A little voice in the back of his mind whispered 'Don't do it. It's not it's fault you were its host. Don't punish it for what it has no control over, like your father.'

His eyes widened in shock at what he almost did. Sure it will grow to be a deadly alien that would more likely than not kill him at the first chance, but he would be damned if he would kill a defenseless creature.

With a sigh he pressed no. "I just hope i'm not gonna regret this."

The tube opened with a hiss and a pop. The pod opened and the baby xenomorph leaped out, and scurried out of sight. Standing he took a step toward the door when a icy sensation washed over his brain, like a bucket of liquid mercury had been dumped over his brain. The sudden sensation made him dizzy causing him to loose his footing and fall. The pain in his chest was white-hot as he hit the floor. Before passing out from the pain he saw a small pink tail move behind a trashcan then darkness took him.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The author does not own Aliens.

Hive-Mind

by

Dawnfang434

_Is thought_

"Is said"

_"Is Zen/Xenomorph speech"_

**"Is Queen speech/Computer** **text**"

AN: OMG! Over 1000 views! Thanks for all the suggestions and help. I will probably start a poll soon to see what I should do to Alex in the future. So here is chapter 4 enjoy.

* * *

As Alex slept he was again assaulted with strange dreams. It had started with him standing in a cave of some sort. Despite the obvious lack of a light source he had no trouble seeing. The walls and floor were covered in a organic looking black substance that twisted and curved in tube-like formations. The air felt warm and humid but not uncomfortably so. All of this was weird enough but the fact that he was observing all this from at least thirty feet in the air was what had his attention.

Now that he thought about it his whole body felt off. Lifting a hand he was shocked to see not his hand but a Xenomorph's. Slowly he flexed the strange appendage still not sure if this was indeed his hand. Reaching up he felt his head only to find it to be smooth at least until he reached the middle from there it seamed to spread out into what felt to Alex like a crest of some-kind. He soon decided that this had to be a dream because it was impossible for him to have been turned into a xenomorph. The sound of fast approaching feet drew his attention to a tunnel he hadn't seen on his left. Soon a small xenomorph, well small to his perspective came scurrying in. It was soon followed by three more each larger than the first.

The first, apparently the runt of the group slipped and fell. The others soon surrounded there fallen sibling and started hissing in a threatening tone. Though he couldn't tell what they were saying but the message was plain as day. Soon each took turns jumping forward to nip at it, and judging from the pained hisses it elected they weren't playful nips ether. He almost couldn't believe his eye's they were all but torturing the little one. Alex hated bullying of any kind having been the recipient of it most of his childhood.

Suddenly he lost all control of his body. It felt as if he was just a passenger while something else took control. Against his will he took a few heavy foot steps foreword bared his teeth and screed loudly at them. The affect was immediate.

All four stopped what they were doing and looked up at him in what he thought was shock and fear. They apparently hadn't realized they weren't alone at the moment. They practically scrambled over each other to line up before him. After they had sorted themselves out in front of him all four lowered their heads. Normally he would be surprised by there actions but with this being a dream he went with it.

Involuntarily he leaned in close and hissed at the three bully's. Slowly the xenomorphs backed away heads still lowered in submission. Who or what ever was in control then turned to the small one and cooed very softly as if urging it to come closer. It stepped forward, inching closer to Alex. His body then crouched low until his face level with it's.

He reached over and softly rubbed it's cheek with one hand and lifted it with the other. The moment it reached his chest it snuggled as deep as it could. Holding the young xeno close he gave a deep, low, hum. It began to purr in response to his humming. As he held the small xeno he could feel it's gratitude and happiness.

Suddenly the world around him began to shift and distort. Soon nothing remained but him and that too began to fade as darkness began to creep at the edges of his vision.

Alex felt himself slowly rise up from the depths of his subconscious and return to the world of the living. He had no idea what that dream had about, but it had left him confused and disoriented. Alex slowly opened his eye's and tried to sit up. He instantly regretted it as white-hot dagger seemed to stab his chest. Tears streamed down his eyes as he fell back clutching his chest. Gritting his teeth he waited for the pain to subside. In addition to the pain in his chest, his hands throbbed in time with his heart.

As time passed, he felt the pain in both his hands and chest lessen to a more tolerable level. Glancing at his hands he winced. They looked worse than before, purplish and noticeably swollen. If he didn't do something soon they could get infected. Getting sick from infection wasn't at the top of his list of things he wanted to do. Groaning he up and found he was no longer on the floor but lying on a bed. Confused he looked around, unsure where he was. To his left he saw several beds in a row leading to the far wall the room and nothing else.

How he had gotten there? Was someone else alive, had they found him and brought him here? If so than where are they now?

"Hello?" he called out.

After a few minuets of silence he decided to look for his savior. Swinging his feet off the bed he stood.

Walking over to the door Alex moved to the control panel and pushed the release. With a faint hiss the door slid open. Glancing out he wearily looked up and down the hall outside the room. Seeing the cost is clear he stepped out into the hall. To his surprise he found he was only a short distance from the Med-lab he had passed out in.

His chest still throbbed so he decided to look for a pain killer before looking for who ever helped him. Turning he walked back to the Med lab. As soon as he had left the room felt like he was being watched. Alex spun around, his sixth sense telling him he wasn't alone. He found nothing amiss as he scanned the hall and yet the feeling persisted. As he neared the door to the lab he saw the door standing open.

All the doors worked on a that detected

All the doors in this area worked on a motion detection system. A control panel is used to open it but a sensor above the door is supposed to close it afterword. If there is nobody in front of the door it should be closed. But if it's open then somebody must be in the area.

Cautiously he walked up to the door to Med-lab 2. Glancing around he looked to see if there was anyone in the room before entering. As far as he could tell the room was deserted. Stepping in he looked around once more to be sure he was alone and almost wished he hadn't. Over in a corner was a pile of what appeared to be snake skin.

He debated just leaving and not looking back. But his chest and hands decided to object to that train of thought. Searching the room once more and not seeing the thing it had come from he decided to take a chance.

Walking over to a set of drawers he started going through them. All he found was cotton balls, gauze and other standard medical supplies. Glancing around his eyes landed on a large refrigerated cabinet he hadn't seen before on his left. Then again he had been a little preoccupied when he had first come through here.

Smiling he walked over and peered through the glass. It didn't take long to find something he recognized, Morphine. Unfortunately the cabinet was locked. Breaking the glass was out of the question with his burnt hands. He didn't feel like looking around with the hope the key was just lying around somewhere. That didn't leave him many options.

Letting out a sigh of frustration he kicked a small trash can across the room. "That's just my luck, I find the painkillers I need only to have them denied by a stupid lock."

The feeling of something staring at him suddenly grew stronger. Alex turned around, and found himself face to face with a xenomorph. Screaming out in surprise he jumped back tripping over the trashcan he had kicked earlier. Squeezing his eyes shut he waited for the inevitable pain the fall would inflict on his still tender chest, but it never came. Opening an eye he saw to his amazement the xeno had stopped him falling by wrapping it's tail around his whist.

Slowly it set him down on the floor and then did something that shocked him beyond words. Stepping back it lowered it's head just like the ones in his dream.

Looking back at said alien he tried to figure out why it was acting so strange. All together it was about the size of the average xenomorph. It's skin was pitch black with the exception of these blue streaks that ran along the elongated head and down entwining around the tube-like things on it's back. The entire body was covered in a skeletal looking exoskeleton. The lone segmented tail with its sharp dagger-like blade was wrapped around it's feet.

Moving slowly he got to his feet. It remained where it was hissing in low in a non-threatening way. In fact, it seemed to be waiting. Something in the back of his mind told him it didn't want to hurt him.

Slowly he lifted a hand he reached out towards it. He held his palm open and fingers spread. He hoped he hadn't lost his mind but his gut said he wasn't, and he always listened to his gut. He tried not to jump as something smooth and slick pushed into his hand.

Sucking in a breath he gasped as he was yet again reminded of his hurt hands.

Seeing his discomfort the creature moved toward him. As it reached him it lowered its head and sniffed his hand as if it knew that was the source of the pain.

"Dang it! If only that stupid cabinet wasn't locked." he said glaring at the cabinet behind him.

Alex watched as it stood and walked over to the offending object and examined it. A sound like something hacking up a hairball came from the xeno before something thick and yellow flew out it's mouth and splattered onto the lock. It then stepped to the side and looked at him.

Raising an eyebrow he asked "Feel better?"

The sound of something sizzling had him looking back at the cabinet in surprise. Right before his eyes the lock and all the metal around it had been eaten away by the yellow goop.

Doing his best impression of a fish he managed to say. "W-wow."

It looked back at Alex with what appeared to be a satisfied smile.

With the lock no longer in place the door swung open. Careful of the acid he walked over and grabbed an unopened box of ten disposable pressure syringes full of Morphine.

Pulling out a syringe he pulled off the cap and stuck it into his thigh. He soon felt the drug take effect as the pain in his chest all but diapered. With that problem taken care of he looked at the xeno who had been watching him with wrapped attention.

"I don't know if you can understand me but um... Thank you."

He wasn't sure what to do now so Alex turned and walked over to the door stuffing the syringes into a pocket. Checking outside the room for any signs of more xenomorphs and seeing none he stepped out into the hall.

He didn't get very far before he heard the clicking of claws behind him. Glancing back he saw the xeno sitting right behind him, tail twitching side to side.

He debated trying to lose it but something told him it wasn't going to be that easy. "I'm not gonna get rid of you, am I?"

It's tail stopped twitching and slowly it crawled over to him. The message was obvious, it was going to follow him whether he liked it or not.

With a sigh he thought _'This is gonna be a long day.'_

**~*HM*~**

**(Twenty miles away from the colony at a large research station.) **

Deep within a research station built within a mountain sat a rather large Xenomorph queen. She was restrained by shackles, which held her against the wall. At the moment her large crested head rested on her chest. When she had awoken the day before she had tried in vain to break the chains that held her. A thick muzzle prevented her from melting the restraints with acid so she had relaxed and started thinking.

After about an hour her mind drifted to thoughts of her children. Somehow they had completely severed her link to the hive. She could feel only the few they had captured alone with her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when one of her children cried out to her. **"Mother!"**

In as soft a voice as she could she comforted her daughter. **"Shh, calm yourself and tell me whats happening."**

Screeches of agony echoed through the dark corridors before she received a response. **"Why are they doing this to us?"**

**"I don't know but be strong, I'm here."**

Another agonized screech reverberated through the halls before there connection was abruptly severed. No longer could she feel the presence of her daughter. She knew that meant her child was dead.

With a roar full of pain, loss and unbridled rage she again tore at her bindings. The chains started to creak and moan but her restraints held.

She promised suffering of the worst forms ever known to all who dared hurt her children. But her cries fell on def ears. Those who were near took a involuntary step back in fear of her.

Bowing her head she let out a sad moan of sadness.

"Well, well, still have some fight in you? That's good." The queen snapped her head up at the sound of the voice.

Before her stood a man looking at her through a glass barer. He was wearing a buttoned up white lab coat with the Weyland Yutani logo on the top, jumpsuit pants, and a pair of boots. He looked like he was in his mid forties, he had black hair with graying sideburns on the side, a salt and pepper goatee around his mouth, and a pair of glasses.

"Do you think it wise to anger her, ? Do you not remember what she did before we were able to capture her? All the men she killed?" Said a Tall women with short blond hair. She wore clothing identical to her colleges.

The Doctor glanced at her and responded with a southern accent. "Indeed I do my friend. But I have taken every precaution to prevent her escape."

She glanced wearily in the queens direction. "Still, I wouldn't antagonize her too much. You still want her for your experiments don't you?"

He smirked. "But of course. Now how long before she starts laying again? It would be a shame if we got a hold of a queen that couldn't lay any eggs. Wouldn't it ?"

Luna consulted her data-pad. "All the tests indicate she will start in one week."

The Doctor's smirk grew into a satisfied grin. "That is good news. If there are no problems, I do believe we should be able to move ahead on schedule."

Both fell into silence they stared the alien queen. Luna however capt glancing at out of the corner of her eye. She hated both him and the 'Research' he did. It didn't stop with just animals, no it continued on with humans. The word immoral didn't even begin to cover it. She sighed wishing she could do something about it.

Turning to the doctor she flashed a fake smile. "If that is all then I best get back to work. Good day sir."

Waving a hand vaguely in her direction he said "Yes, yes go."

Nodding she turned and left. As the door closed behind her with a faint hiss continued to stare at his newest test subject. "Not long now. Soon my research will begin."

Down in the holding cell The queen heard him and hissed. **"Not likely human."**

**~*HM*~**

**(Back at the colony)**

Alex stood before what at one point was the hall leading to the living area. The whole thing had collapsed in on itself. Whether it was intentional or not he didn't know. One thing was clear they weren't getting through this way any time soon. They had only been walking for an hour when they found this. With a sigh Alex looked at the alien to his left.

"That's gonna be a problem." It nodded in agreement.

Hearing something jingling by his feet Alex looked down, and saw bullet casings, clips, and what was left of a rifle. Kneeling he picked up a few casings, "Where did they get a pulse rifle?"

As far as he knew this colony didn't have weapons like that, only teargas and stun-guns. Something just didn't add up but he would figure it out later. Right now they needed a place to sleep.

Looking back at the wall of ruble he said "Well can't stay around here all day. Best get to someplace safe."

Looking around, Alex spotted a corridor a few feet back. "Let's try that way."

Standing they headed down the relatively undamaged corridor. There were considerably less rooms in this hall than others in the living area. He looked into a room from time to time to see if anything useful could be found but there wasn't much.

He had found a backpack in one room already packed. Unfortunately he didn't wear women's clothing so he had to dump most of its contents, save for a few bottles of water. He put the remaining Morphine syringes in and slung it over a shoulder.

He was about to enter the last room when a wave of dizziness washed over him. Alex stumbled and fell to one knee. Reaching up he wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He had been sweating profusely for the last thirty minuets. And now his stomach was rolling. He tried to stand, only to fall once more. He began to shiver as lay there, the floor suddenly so cold. Darkness began to creep in at the edges of his vision. With one last trailing thought of how much his life sucked, he blacked out.

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So what do you think? Pm me if you have any suggestions or thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The author does not own Aliens.

Hive-Mind

by

Dawnfang434

_Is thought_

"Is said"

_"Is Zen/Xenomorph speech"_

**"Is Queen speech/Computer** **text**"

* * *

**Author's Note: Well here comes the new chapter. I would like to thank Ddragon21, Guest Reader for there ideas ans suggestions and all the positive reviewers. And now the story enjoy.**

* * *

He_ tried to stand, only to fall once more. He began to shiver as lay there, the floor suddenly so cold. Darkness began to creep in at the edges of his vision. With one last trailing thought of how much his life sucked, he blacked out._

**~*HM*~**

The moment the human had collapsed she let out a loud hiss and had rushed over to him. She began to push him with her head in an attempt to wake him. When he didn't move she began to get concerned. She didn't know why she felt this way about this human. Her genetic memory told her to ether kill him or cocoon him. But she felt the need to help him and keep him safe.

He soon began to shiver as if cold even though the hall was warm. Looking around she searched for something to keep him warm. Not seeing anything she picked him up and walked over to one of the rooms. After looking for any sign of her brothers and sisters and not seeing any she entered. Smelling the air once more she walked over to one of the doors. This room smelt strongest of human than in the rest of the rooms. Stepping in she saw some of those odd second skin that the human wore scattered around the room. In one corner of the corner she spotted one of those long soft things she had left her host on earlier. Approaching it she set him down on it and stepped back.

She stood looking over him now as he lay there shivering. His face was pale and his hands looked even worse. She wasn't sure how humans were supposed to look but the foul smell coming off them told her all she needed to know. He was sick.

She watched as he groaned, and let out an strained whisper. "R-rika."

Staring at him she was unsure of what to do. If he had been one of her kind she would've just given him some of a substance her kind secreted. Normally, it was used to help them heal faster. However, with him being human she didn't know if there would be any side effects.

Deciding to take that chance, she stood and walked over to him. With her second mouth extended she leaned over and opened his mouth. Soon a whitish substance began to gather on her teeth. When enough had been gathered she dripped it into his mouth. Reflex made him swallow when it slid down his throat.

Stepping back she looked him over. Nothing seamed to happen for a minuet then all of the sudden he began to convulse and thrash around. Hissing she jumped back in surprise. She hadn't expected him to react so violently to the secretion. After one more violent spasm his body relaxed and he fell into a deep sleep. Stepping forward she sniffed him.

His breathing had evened out as he lay unmoving on the bed. With that, she scanned her surroundings once before climbing onto the bed and curled around him as he slept. The xenomorph then unfurled her long tail and draped it over the humans fragile body.

**~*HM*~**

For the next few hours Alex swam in and out of conciseness. He barely understood anything his senses told him. At times he thought he saw his mother. Other times he thought he saw the black form of a xenomorph. At one point he thought he herd a womens voice. It was muffled to the point where he could only make out a few words now and then but was definitely female.

"I'm sorry..."

"...didn't...for this..."

Slowly he slid into a dreamless sleep.

**~*HM*~**

Alex awoke and immediately jumped to his feet and ran to the door, not even noticing he had just been laying in a bed. Nor hearing the startled hiss and following thump of something hitting the floor. Not stopping to figure out where he was he ran strait into the bathroom. Leaning over the toilet just in time he vomited the contents of his stomach, what little there was.

After a few minuets of dry heaving he started to feel better. Sitting back against the wall he glanced around the room. It was a standard colony bathroom with a sink, mirror, toilet and shower. Almost absently he asked "Wasn't I just in the hall?"

He remembered passing out. Then strange dreams, well not as strange as others but still strange all the same. But most of all he remembered the voice. Thoroughly confused Alex decided to leave the room and find out where he was. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he stood. Blinking he glanced down and found both his hands healed, not completely but better than they were. The swelling had gone down and they were no longer a purplish color. Slowly he flexed his fingers and winced at the stinging discomfort. But was happy it wasn't a throbbing pain any more. At first he had been shocked but then he just shrugged. While it did freak him out it wasn't the strangest thing that had happened over the last few days let alone his whole life.

Looking up he glanced in the mirror. His skin was a bit pale and he needed to shave but that was normal. at some point he had apparently also suffered a nose bleed, though it had already dried. Other than that he looked normal. After washing his mouth and face he stepped out.

Slowly he look around, and found himself in a living room/office. The room was in was furnished with a number of expensive items. A long couch rested against the wall to his right with a large picture hanging above it. Two small tables sat at either end. Against the wall by what he assumed was the front door sat a desk covered in papers and miscellaneous junk. On one end of the room were two doors leading into other rooms. One led to a kitchen area the other to a bathroom he had just been in.

Something felt different to Alex, though he couldn't tell what. Shrugging he attributed it to paranoia. Then the fact that he hadn't bathed in a few days made itself known. With a sniff and a grimace he said "Wow, I need a bath."

Turning he walked back to the room he had run out of. He decided to try and look for some new cloths before he showered. The room was simple with a bed with simple whit sheets and a red comforter. A medium sized dresser sat against one wall to his right. If the scattered clothes were any indication the previous owner of apartment had been a male.

Walking over to the dresser he opened the top drawer and rummaged around. Letting out a sigh of relief he grabbed a long sleeved shirt and bluejeans. As he gathered the cloths he wondered where that xeno had gone. It wasn't like he was worried about it, but still. He couldn't shake this feeling that they were somehow connected.

Alex nearly jumped out of his skin when something bumped into his back. Spinning around he sighed in relief at the sight of his new friend sitting on the floor behind him.

Placing a hand over his thundering heart he glared at the alien. "Are you trying to give ma a heart attack?"

Slowly almost lazily it tilted its head and looked at him. Sighing he smiled and stretched his arms above his head, joints popping all the way. Sighing in relief as his back pops he looks at the xeno he said "I'm gonna go take a shower. You stay. Right here. In this room. You know what I mean."

Turning, cloths in hand, he left to take a shower. Stepping into the bathroom he opened the shower door. He almost laughed in delight when a stream of hot water sprayed out as he turned the knob. Stripping he stepped in and let the hot water run over his body. Slowly the tight muscles all over his body loosened.

Fifteen minuets later he stopped the water and stepped out. Grabbing a towel off a rack he dried himself off and dressed. Looking at himself in the mirror he he decided not to shave this time. Slowly a small smile crossed his face. For one small moment it seamed like a normal day. Like nothing over the past few days had happened. But sadly nothing lasts forever. Sighing, he opened the door and chuckled. Over in the by the desk the xeno sat holding a small paperweight. It was a simple glass orb modeled after old earth. Alex himself had one in a box somewhere in his apartment.

Setting the glass orb back down it leaned over the side of the desk. What happened next had him laughing hysterically. The xeno hissed and stepped back with its head stuck in a trashcan. It shook its head in a vain attempt to remove the annoying object. This only served to make Alex laugh harder. Tears streamed down his face as he watched the alien fall on its back.

Gasping he managed to say "Stop, please just stop."

Hearing his voice it stopped and looked in his direction. Still smiling he walked over and helped remove the trashcan from its head. Tossing it to the side he scratched the side of its head. Leaning into the attention it started purring.

Chuckling he asked "So, feel better?"

"Yes, thanks for asking."

Alex froze in mid scratch. He had thought they were alone. Slowly he turned to look around the room. Seeing they were indeed alone he turned back to at the alien sitting before him. In a voice that sounded like he was unsure of his own sanity he said "Either I'm going insane, which is entirely possible. Or I just heard you speek."

If a xenomorph could look shocked this one did. In an unmistakably female voice it said. "You can hear me?"

His eyes widened in shock when he realized it was the same voice from his waking dreams. His mouth opened and closed unsure whether or not to believe what he had just herd. By the look of things she wasn't doing any better.

Alex stood looking at _her_ and considered his options. Without taking his eyes off of her he debated jumping into the kitchen and locking the door, but through that idea out. The ones that had chased him before had torn through a solid steel door. Plus she had yet to kill him.

After a minuet she asked "Um... are you alright human?"

With a sigh he nodded. "Y-yea, i'm fine. And my name is Alex. Whats yours?"

"I don't have one." she answered with a sad tone.

Confused he asked "What do you mean?"

Looking at the floor she said "Mother wasn't there when I first awoke, so I was never named."

Not fully understanding he said. "I think a few things need to be explained."

**~*HM*~**

Back at the research station sat at her desk looking over the results of the latest batch of tests she had run on the Xenomorph Queen. Something didn't seem right to her. The Queen had stopped eating and refused to even acknowledge any humans that got close. So she had ordered this round of tests to try and find out why. As her practiced eyes scanned the reports she sipped a cup of coffee.

Blood tests showed no infections or illness. Her diet was fresh meet like her kind was known to eat so that wasn't the problem. Her cell was kept at the same temperature as the hive she had been taken from. With a sigh Luna sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. Every single test said the exact same thing. There was nothing wrong with her.

Reaching for her cup she found it empty. Standing she walked over to the coffee pot she kept in her office. As she filled her cup her terminal beeped. Sitting back down she saw it was the last test she has asked for, an MRI scan. Opening the file looked it over. As she read her brows furrowed. The scans showed parts of her mind that governed the link to the hive had all but shutdown. Up to now it had been disrupted but never to the point of shutting down.

If she wasn't the center of the hive anymore would she still produce eggs? The scientific side of her relished in the thought of might not be able to get his 'specimens'. The human side however hoped there was something that could be done to save her.

Standing she dumped the file to a portable pad, grabbed her lab coat and headed for office. "This should be fun."

Five minuets later she stood in front of his door a smile plastered on her face. On the other side of the door two voices were yelling at each other. They could be herd all the way down the hall. Though they were yelling she could only catch scattered words.

"Doctor give it time, you..." someone was saying, trying to calm him down.

"NO! you know... Deadline" was in a rage.

"But..."

"I won't take any excuses..."

"I'm sorry sir but..."

"NOW!" There was pure rage in his voice.

There was silence for a long time after that. Then the other voice said "Yes sir."

Suddenly the door flew open and a scared lab tech ran out and brushed past Luna. She schooled her face into a serious expression and stepped into the room. currently sat at his desk fuming.

Hearing her footsteps he looked up. "Ah, and what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Smiling the fake smile she used around him she said "I think I know whats wrong with our Queen."

That peeked his internist. "I see." He gestured for he to continue.

Nodding she handed him her data pad. "As you can see she is physically fine." Reaching over she scrolled down. "But the real problem is that she has somehow completely lost her connection to the hive. Her children."

He gave her a skeptical look. "Doctor, are you telling me our deadly alien Queen... is heart broken?"

She nodded "That's exactly what i'm saying. I'v seen it happen with hundreds of species."

He leaned beck and digested this new information. "Hm... Fine you are the resident xenobiologist here. So what do we do?"

This shocked her. Normally he wouldn't listen to anyone else's suggestion on 'his project'. _He must really be desperate to keep her alive. I could use this._

Soon the beginnings of a plan began to form in her mind. Clearing her thought she looked him in the eye. "Put quite simply. We need to find and bring more of her children here."

**~*HM*~**

Back at the colony Alex sat on the couch with his arms crossed. "Okay so let me get this strait, You are called the '_zen_' not xeno?"

"_Right._" his xeno confirmed.

"Now, for some reason nether of us can explain I can hear your thoughts."

She nodded and let him continue. "Now, you can't hear or even feel your mother only me which shouldn't be possible. So you don't have a family or even a name."

"Yep, that about sums it up." she answered with a sad tone.

Alex looked at the Zen. It was obvious to him that even for such deadly creature, her kinds normal way of life had been disrupted and she had been drawn to him for some reason. It was a bit odd, but it wasn't like he had much human company before all this. She had yet to make any attempts to harm him and on the contrary, she seemed to be treating him better then most of his own species did. He felt bad for her and wanted to do something to cheer her up.

"Well that just won't do, let's find you a name." Alex said with a smile.

"You are a female right?" He asked. He was pretty sure she was, but it couldn't hurt to ask. To this she nodded, but it was obvious she was holding back laughter.

Alex sat down and started to think. For some reason one name kept popping into his head. After thinking it over he smiled. "How about...Rika?"

Leaning back, Alex looked at her as the names seemed to sink in. Without warning, she jumped at him. Startled, all he could do was sit there." Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

But then a thought occurred to her. Looking up at Alex she asked "Alex who is Rika?"

Alex was shocked by the question. "What do you mean?"

She tilted her head. "Well after you collapsed you said that name in your sleep."

Alex looked away with a distant look. "She... she was my mother. And like yours she diapered."

Rika knew this was about as sensitive a subject with him as it was with her. Deciding to change the subject she asked "So what now?"

Shaking his head to clear it he said "Well I thing we should head to Operations and see where to go from there."

After getting some food, a raw stake for Rika and a sandwich for Alex, He packed his backpack with extra cloths and food. Looking at Rika he nodded then they left the apartment.

Thirty minuets later they came to a dead end. This had been the third time they had found themselves at one. With a sigh Alex looked at the alien to his left. She was looking back at him and he swore if she had eyebrows one would be raised.

"Oh like you could do any better. I'v only been in this part of the colony once." he grumbled.

Shaking her head she said "No, but i'd still probably do better than you."

"Well if I hadn't left my jacket in the med lab we would have a map, but we don't."

Looking around he was about to suggest they try a corridor they had passed when Rika asked "Med lab? Was that where I was removed?"

Alex nodded not sure where she was going with this. Nodding she said "Stay here. I'll be right back." And with that she jumped into a vent and diapered.

Not sure what just happened he sat down. Reaching into the bag he pulled out a bottle of water and opened it. A minuet later the sound of something hopping out of the vent had him looking up right into the face of a xenomorph. He at first assumed it was Rika but when he didn't see the blue markings he started to become afraid.

When it took a step toward him he let out a squeak of fear and pressed his back against the wall. When he tried to move away the creature gave a confused hiss. Startled by the noise, Alex froze afraid it was going to attack him. However, the xenomorph made no move to hurt him, instead it moved slowly closer. When it reached him it sniffed him then laid down right beside him. Alex was unsure what to do so he just sat there.

Being this close to this xeno he couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't doing anything to hurt him, but instead was snuggling up against him. Ria he could understand not hurting him but not this one. When a xenomorph found a human they usually did one of two things. It ether killed or cocooned them, but it was cuddling which was a little too weird. '_Well this is great, just great. I'm a cuddle toy to one of the most dangerous creatures in the universe. Why wont it kill me_? _I wonder..._'

Deciding to take a chance he gently laid his hand on its head like he did with Rika. When it didn't move or hiss he started to slowly move his hand along its alien started to purr in response. Looking closer he saw it looked a lot like Rika. While it did have blue running along its head it was a darker color, Rika's were bright blue while this ones was cobalt.

Just then another xeno hopped out of the vent. Startled, it dropped a jacket, his jacket! It had to be Rika. Alex almost sighed with relief. Crouching low she hissed, at who he wasn't entirely sure. But the hissing coming from beside him reminded him that he had forgotten his new guest.

With a whoosh something small and black went flying past Alex and slammed into Rika.

Standing he said "Rika!"

The sound of fighting soon filled the air. Startled Alex watched his xeno throw the other across the room. The alien hit the wall with a thump and collapsed to the floor. Suspecting he was the cause of the fight he decided to do something stupid. Rushing forward he stood in between both of the xenos. Rika stopped walking but was still in a attack stance.

Raising his hands and looked at her with calm eyes. In a voice with more confidence than he actually felt he said "Stop, it didn't hurt me so stop attacking."

She dropped to the floor in a crouch. "But..."

He cut his hand through the air cutting her off. "No buts."

On the floor behind him a small voice said. "ugh, ouch."

Hearing that he glanced back and sighed. "Great, now I can hear two of you."

Shaking her head she looked down at the other zen and asked with an angry hiss, "_What are you doing here_?"

The new zen looked up at her with a sad look, "_I was alone and I smelled another Zen so I followed it here and found him_."

Looking at this small zen she realized she was just young, alone, and afraid. Just like she had been. Softly she asked "_What is your name little one_?"

She looked at the floor. "I don't have one."

"Alright, would you like to stay here with us?"

The young zen looked up with a happy expression. "R-really?"

She nodded. "Only if he says you can."

Turning they both looked at him. Alex was momentarily stunned. They were waiting on his approval?

He blinked confused. "Why are you asking me?"

Both zen looked at each other before looking at him. Shrugging Rika said "I don't know. We just feel we need to ask your permission."

Sighing he scratched the back of his head. "Fine. But you need a name too."

Tapping his chin he asked "Your a female?" She nodded "How about Sophie?"

With an happy hiss she said "Thank you Big brother!"

Alex was taken aback. He had never had any siblings, and now an alien was calling him Big brother. He slowly shook his head at the absurdity of his life at the moment. Turning to Rika he said "Alright, hand me my jacket."

After she handed it over he fished around in a pocket for his PDA. Pulling it out he flipped it on and found a message. Glancing at the display he frowned.

In a voice barely above a whisper he said "What the?"

Tilting her head Rika asked "Whats wrong Alex?"

Blinking he shook his head. "Ah, nothing just some problems around the colony."

Flipping through the PDA to the map he said "Now lets get to Operations."

Rika knew he was lying but let it go for now. Turning to her new sister she said "Come on."

Twenty minuets later they were walking down the hall leading to Operations. Stopping before a pair or large steel blast doors he said "It's just past this door. Once were there I can find out if there is a way off this rock. If we can get it open that is."

Stepping over to the door control he sighed and shook his head. The keypad had been completely destroyed. It looked like someone had smashed it with a tool of some sort.

Looking at Rika he got an idea. "Rika, can you do something for me?"

Nodding she asked "Sure, what do you need?"

Pointing to the door he said "This thing is locked up tight, And with the door control destroyed that's not gonna change any time soon. But I think I can short out the lock, but only for a minuet. In that time I need you two to pull the doors apart."

Kneeling by a panel beside the door he popped it open and looked at Rika who nodded. Reaching in he pulled out some wires and started working. A minuet later Alex cursed when the wire sparked and he received a shock. A second later the door clicked and both zen pulled with all there strength. With a groan of protest the doors slid open.

Alex gasped in shock at the destruction behind the door. Large sections of the wall and floor were completely melted. Fifteen feet ahead was some sort of barricade. It had served little to no purpose as it too was half melted. Shaking his head he carefully made his way down the hall. The zen followed by crawling on the walls and ceiling.

When they reached Operations Alex shook his head. The door had been ripped open in jagged pieces. But the worst part was the blood that covered it and the floor surrounding it. Careful not to touch the door he slipped in.

The room itself didn't look much better than the hall. Blood covered the floor in random places. There were holes all along one wall reaching up to ceiling. One of the florescent lights hung flickering from its fixture. Walking up to a bank of computers he found most of them were damaged. Thankfully the main control terminal was still functional. Plugging his PDA into the slot he brought up the landing bay manifest.

As it turns out, There had been one shuttle docked in bay three, but it was registered to have taken off not long after the attack. Given the current situation he couldn't blame them. The problem was after ten minuets of scrolling through the logs he couldn't find the one that said they made orbit.

Typing a few keys he brought up a schematic of the colony. Alex let out a low whistle. Whatever had driven the zen into a frenzy made them do a number on the whole colony. with a sigh he sat in the only char that remarkably had been untouched.

Slowly Rika, who had been sitting with Sophie by the door, stepped over to Alex. Bumping his leg she asked "Alex, you ok?"

Turning to her he smiled. "Yea, just a little disappointed. I was hoping for a way off this rock."

Standing he grabbed his PDA and said "Well I guess were gonna need a place to stay since were gonna be here a while."

They had just gotten to the door when a voice crackled over the PA system. "Hello are... there... Colony LV-564..."

Dashing to the console he pressed the transmit button. "Hello! Hello! This is Alex Dawson, Engineer for colony on LV-564 ID 1456233. Anyone receiving me."

After a minuet the voice replied. "Yes... receiving you... Are... safe?"

Alex snorted. "Yes."

"Good... be there... hour. Hold tight... we get there..."

After that the transmission dissolved into static. Alex cursed. "Where is a com specialist when you need one."

Shaking his head he turned to the the girls. "Well I spoke to soon. Come on lets find a place to hide until they get here."

**~*HM*~**

At the research stations com center. The tech sat back in his char. "Well Commander Frost how was that?"

One figure stepped out of the shadows behind the man leaving the other to stand alone. He looked to be a man in his mid thirties with short spiky white hair, a lean, muscular build. He was wearing standard marine combat vest over his gray military shirt, dark green military pants with metallic knee pads, and combat boots.

He looked at the tech and responded. "Yes very good."

Turning to the door he said "Now back to work. I need to inform of this interesting new development. Don't you agree Miss. McCreedy?"

END

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**OH NO THE DREADED CLIFF HANGER!** Again Pm me if you have any suggestions or thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The author does not own Aliens.

Hive-Mind

by

Dawnfang434

_Is thought_

"Is said"

_"Is Zen/Xenomorph speech"_

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**Author's Note: Wow, this chapter took than I thought it would. Anyway I would like to thank all the reviewers for there ideas and suggestions.**** Please let me know what you think.**

* * *

Shaking his head he turned to the the girls. "Well I spoke to soon. Come on lets find a place to hide until they get here."

Turning he went to reach for his bag when Sophie's sad voice behind him asked, "_Big brother, if your leaving...what's gonna happen to us?_"

Alex froze with his hand on the strap. In his rush to answer the com he hadn't thought about that. Alex began to frown. He didn't think he could convince the rescue party they were safe. There had been to much prejudice against Xenomorphs after what happened on LV-426 and a few other worlds like it. Heck, it took him two days living with one before he was one-hundred percent sure it wouldn't kill him.

Alex was broken out of his thoughts when Rika asked, "_You still want us around, don't you Alex?_"

A moment of silence passed between the three as Alex gave serious consideration to her words.

Turning around he stared at the two aliens he had befriended. If he had been asked a few days before he would've said no, now he wasn't so sure. Even though he was only just able to talk to them he had gotten to know them over the past few days. When he was around Rika he felt safe. With Sophie on the other hand he felt the over whelming need to protect. There was another feeling deep in the back of his mind he couldn't identify. The more he thought about it the more he came to realize he didn't want to leave them.

_I have to take a chance and try, i'm not about to leave them here alone._ He thought with resolve.

When he didn't speak after a minute Sophie lowered her head in sadness, thinking he didn't want them to. So when she felt a hand on top of her head she jumped. Looking up she looked up to see Alex knelling in front of her.

Smiling he said, "Of course I do. So, both of you are coming with me."

"Besides what kind of Big brother would I be if I just left the two of you here all alone?" He added as he rubbed the top of her head. A chuckle escaped him when she snuggled into his touch.

Adopting a more serous expression he said, "I know all to well how it feels to be alone."

Sophie tilted her head in confusion. "_What do you mean?_"

"I lost my mother when I was young. And as for my _Father,_" Alex said the word 'Father' with an unmistakable note of hatred. "...Well lets just say he wasn't one." Alex responded as he walked over to the door.

It was a few seconds before ether zen moved to follow. The amount of hatred he felt when he had machined his father had flowed through the link, shocking them both by its depth.

Rika gave Alex a worried look before following, Sophie right behind her.

When they had caught up to Alex he was leaning against the wall outside Operations with a distant look in his eyes. Bumping him with her head Rika asked, "_So, where are we going._"

Shaking his head to clear it he said, "Hm, what?"

Rika slapped him over the head with her tail. "_Where are we going?_"

"Ouch, well I figured we would find somewhere close to the Landing bays to wait in till the rescue party arrived." He replied as he rubbed his head.

Alex pointed down the hall opposite the way they had come from before. "Our destination is that way. With any luck the way will be clear. If not then we will have to go around, and that could take a while."

Looking in the direction he indicated Rika asked, "_How long do you think it will take to get there?_"

Alex shrugged as he started walking. "If its clear, then half an hour. If not, then longer."

It seamed luck wasn't on there side when they reached the end of the hall. Sitting at the end of the hall sat a twisted mass of bits of steel and equipment all welded together. Behind the hastily built barricade were the large blast doors, which were also welded shut.

"Well, crap." Alex said as he stared at the hunk of mettle in their way.

Rika looked at him and asked, "_So, I guess this means the long way?_"

With a sigh he nodded. He was about to start walking when something lying on the floor by his feet caught his eye. In their hast someone had left a small handheld Plasma Torch behind. Knelling he picked it up and examined it for any damage. Not seeing any thing more than a few small scratches on it he tossed it into the bag and started walking. It didn't have much use as a weapon do to its very short range, but if it still worked it might come in handy later.

**~*HM*~**

Back at the research station Commander Frost stood before , having just finished giving his report.

sat back in his char, arms crossed in thought. "And there was only one you say?"

Not changing his expression Frost said, "Hard to tell sir. The transmission was heavily distorted. We believe the colony transmitter must have taken some damage when the xenomorphs attacked, but one person did answer when we tried to contact the colony. We weren't able discern whether or not he was alone. We were however able to get him to meet us when we head over to gather more specimens."

Nodding leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk, fingers entwined together. "I see. Well, a survivor running around isn't what we need right now." Resting his head on his hands he gave Frost a serous look. "Bring him here. If nothing else we can use him as a host."

A sadistic grin crossed the solders face. "Yes sir."

Nodding turned back to his computer. "Good, now go assemble your team. I want you to gather as many as you can and get back as soon as possible."

Unknown to ether of the the men in the room a certain blond haired doctor had herd the whole conversation. Luna gasped in shock when Frost had said there was a survivor. Her shock turned to anger when had said to bring the survivor back to be a host. She made a mental note to try and save him if she could when her plan started.

Her current train of thought was interrupted when the sound of heavy footsteps on the other side of the door came closer. Moving as quickly and quietly as possible she turned and walked down the hall away from 's office. She had just mad it around the corner as the door opened.

When she was sure she was fare enough away she slowed to a walk. Luna let her feet move on their own as she thought on what she herd. Soon enough she found herself turning into the observation room above the Queens holding cell.

_There has to be something I can do._ Luna thought as she entered the observation room and walked towards the glass barer.

"I hope the plan will work. The Queen isn't looking good." She thought aloud as she stared at Queen in the room below.

"I'm sure she will be fine ." A female voice replied from behind her.

Jumping in surprise she turned and glared at Kara McCreedy. "Shouldn't you be out killing something."

Kara winced at the unmistakable venom in the women's voice. She knew this women had something against her, though she had no idea why.

"Why?" Kara questioned in a neutral tone. Her question though, only succeeded in angering Luna.

"Why what?" Luna asked as she crossed her arms.

"Why are you so hostile towards me?" Kara clarified.

"Oh, I don't know, how about you sacrificed a colony full of people, some of which were your friends, just for money." Luna snapped before she turned back to the glass.

"You think I don't regret what I did?" Kara said in a sad tone.

Luna scoffed. Turning her amber eyes locked onto Kara's teal ones. The look in them caused her anger to falter. They were so full of pain, sorrow and regret. She was stunned silent by the genuine guilt in the other women's eyes. If she was this torn up about it why had she done it in the first place?

A moment of silence passed between the two before Kara turned and walked to the door. From the doorway she said, "I'm sorry." then she left.

Outside the observation room Kara sighed. The feeling of guilt still weighs heavily on her mind. Shaking her head to clear it she headed towards her room. Suddenly she started to cough, which soon turned violent. Covering her mouth with a hand she leaned on the wall. When her coughing fit ended she lowered her hand. _It's getting worse._

**~*HM*~**

Back at the colony the group had just reached a small junction. Several halls went in separate directions, Operations behind the group, Living area to the left, and at the far end of the room buried under a mountain of ruble was the hall that led to the Loading/Landing bay.

"Crap." Alex said as he dropped his head into his hand. _Well this way out is gone. That leaves us with two ways left, and I don't like ether._

Looking up Rika saw the look on Alex's face and asked, "_What?_"

He let out a long tired sigh. "With this way blocked we are left with two ways to get to the landing pad. Ether we go around, which could take an hour or more if the rest of the building is like this. Or we could head outside and go strait there."

Tilting her head in confusion she said, "_I don't see the problem. If outside is faster, then lets go that way._"

Alex nodded. "Yes, its faster, but also more dangerous. If were caught out there when a dust storm starts up we might not be able to find our way back."

She bumped him reassuringly with her head. "_Don't worry, we have a great sense of direction._"

Alex smiled, her words dispelling his fears. Without another word, they backtracked down the hall they had just had come from in search of a service hatch. On the way Alex stopped at a window and hit a switch on the wall. Slowly a pair of thick retractable storm shutters slid up. He stared out into the barren wasteland that was LV-564. In the distance towering high above everything within forty miles was . So named because it looked like the teeth on a saw blade. The air was almost tolerable to breath, though most had never left the safety of the colony because of the violent dust storms. The air filters did wonders in cleaning the air for human use. Cleaning the filters had been the bane of all engineers existence, Alex included.

Shaking his head to clear it he closed the shutter and started walking again. As he walked Alex was deep in thought. Something about that transmission from the rescue crew had bugged him. At the time he hadn't cared, just happy to have some human contact. Over the last ten minutes he had had time to think about it, and something was definitely off. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his PDA and scrolled through it till he found the supply logs. Reading when the next and last shipment was only served to add to his uneasy feeling. The last had been two weeks ago and the next wasn't scheduled for another week. From the look of operations a distress call hadn't been sent. Even if it had, the closest ship was more than a week away. He desperately hoped he was wrong.

While Alex was deep in thought Rika and Sophie were having a discussion of there own.

"_All i'm saying is its weird. How we were both able to link with his mind._" Said Rika as they followed Alex "_Its as if he were the same as..._"

"_But that's not possible._" Sophie interrupted. After a minute she added, "_Is it?_"

Rika shrugged. "_I don't know, but that's not the only thing that's weird._"

Tilting her head in confusion Sophie asked, "_what do you mean?_"

She glanced at Alex for a minute before answering. Seeing he was in his own world she proceeded to explain how before Sophie had found them his hands and chest were wounded. Then how he later collapsed and that she gave him the excretion in the hope it would heal him. "_But now its as if nothing happened. I'm not even sure hes noticed the extent of it himself._"

Sophie gave her a worried look, as much as a faceless alien can. "_What do we do?_"

Rika shrugged again. "_I don't know. I guess we just hope for the best._"

Alex's voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. "Found one."

Looking up she saw they had indeed found a door. Alex reached for the control for the door lock when a low rumble echoed through the building, then the lights went out.

In the darkness Alex let out a sigh. "Is this karma for something?"

To his left Rika said, "_Alex?_"

Reaching into his pocked he pulled out his PDA and switched on the flashlight app. "Ah, that's better."

Turning in her general direction he said, "Don't worry. The emergency lights will kick on in a minute."

Shining the light around he waited for the emergency power to kick on. After six minutes of darkness Alex began to get worried. Had the reactor been damaged or was this just an isolated incident? Ether way he didn't like it. Reaching into his pack he pulled out the Plasma Torch. Squinting into the gloom where the door was he held out the light and said, "Sophie, can you hold this."

Kneeling by the door he lifted the torch. Adjusting the little lighting shield on the device he said, "Watch out, i'm gonna cut through the door lock."

After a minute of cutting the panel dropped to the floor. Reaching in he felt for the lock. Finding it he proceeded to cut through it too. The door made a small sucking sound as the seal was broken. Slipping the torch into a pocket he stood and brushed himself off. Gripping the door with both hands he pulled it open.

Stepping out Alex took a deep breath and grimaced. Breathing the outside air was worse than he remembered. It felt like he had just run a marathon. Feeling his discomfort over the link Rika asked, "_Are you okay Alex?_"

Looking back at the zen he gave her a smile. "Just a little trouble breathing the air. Ill be fine when we get back inside. What about you?"

Shaking her head she looked at her sister who also shook her head.

With a chuckle he started walking. "Well i'm glad your comfortable breathing this stuff."

After a few minuets of silence Alex let his mind drift. _What are we gonna do after we leave this place? More importantly, how am I gonna convince the rescue party, if that's what they really are, that Rika and Sophie aren't dangerous?_

His thoughts ware interrupted by a low rumbling sound. Glancing around he saw a wall of sand and dust coming right at him.

"Great a duststorm, that's all we need." he said wearily. Turning he started running frantically toward the nearest access hatch. Following his cue the zen ran close behind him. He hadn't made it very far before he stumbled over a piece of equipment he hadn't seen in his way and fell. Pushing himself up with his hands he tried to stand and failed. Crying out in pain Alex gripped his leg.

Rika was immediately by his side. "_Alex, whats wrong?_"

Grunting in pain he said, "M-my ankle. I think I twisted it."

Glancing back at the steadily advancing storm she asked, "_Can you walk?_"

Alex shook his head, not trusting himself to speak at the moment. Wasting no time she lowered herself down and told him to clime on. Reaching up he grabbed onto the tube like things on her back and pulled himself up. Once he was situated she took off with Sophie close behind. Alex winced every time his leg bumped into Rika's hard exoskeleton.

In no time they had reached the door. Looking up Alex prayed this panel still had power. Reaching a hand up he typed in his access code. For one terrifying moment nothing happened then something clicked and the door swung open. Jumping in Sophie waited till Rika and Alex were in then closed it with her tail just as the storm hit.

As carefully as possible Sophie lifted Alex off Rika's back and set him on the floor by a wall.

Panting Alex slumped against the wall and said, "We are never doing that again. Ever."

He winced as his foot throbbed in renewed pain. Reaching down he pulled back his pants leg and groaned. His entire ankle was an angry red color and felt tender, soon it would start swelling. Definitely not going to be able to walk on it any time soon.

Leaning back he glanced around the hall they were now in. "Okay, the first thing we should do is find out where we are. We can figure out where to go from there."

Down the hall he spotted a pair of double doors. "I see some doors down there. Lets see where they lead. That might tell us where we are at least."

With some help from Rika they made there way down the hall. The moment they reached the doors A large grin spread across his face. Printed across the doors in large letters were the words '**Loading bay 3**'.

Seeing that they were somewhere he knew well he said, "I know where we are. This is where I worked before the attack." grabbing the knob he turned it.

The moment he opened the door something hit him in the chest with enough force to him away from Rika and off his feet. As he hit the ground he got a look at what hit him. Scrambling backward he tried to get away from the facehugger that was now crawling toward him.

The facehugger launched it's self at Alex, and for a terrifying second he thought he was about to become a host all over again. A split second before it hit a black hand flashed out and grabbed it's tail. Slamming it on the floor Rika stabbed it with her tail then threw it down the hall.

"_Are you alright?_" Rika asked worry leaking across the mental link.

Alex nodded quickly, not wanting her to worry. "I-i'm fine, thanks"

With a sigh of relief she helped him to his feet. "_Okay, forgoing any more surprises lets keep moving._"

After a few deep breaths to calm his thundering heart they started walking. With a lot more caution they walked into the room. Seeing the light were off Alex reached over and flipped a switch on the wall. A few seconds later a single long fluorescent light, dangling by its cord in the middle of the room, came to life. Doing little to dispel the shadows it slowly spun in a small circle, making the shadows seem to jump and move.

As it did Alex spotted a small flashlight lying on a table a few feet away. Grabbing it he flipped it on. Sweeping the light around the room he was shocked at the state of the room. Tools ans equipment of all kinds littered the floor. Over by one wall lay what remained of a Loader. Limping over Alex took a closer look and gasped in surprise. The heavy piece of equipment looked like someone took a can opener to it, but what had surprised him was what was in its clamp. In what was left of one of the Loaders melted clamps was the body of a zen. A sad whine from Rika drew his attention away from the machine. Looking over he saw her head bowed as was Sophie's. Then it hit him, this was probably a sister or brother of there's. Though they had never met this particular zen it was still one of there siblings, and it was dead. He had never had any siblings so he had no idea what they were thinking at the moment, but that wouldn't stop him from comforting them.

He gently rested a hand on Sophie's head and gave the arm around Rika's neck a small squeeze. Sophie nuzzled into his hand and Rika lightly bumped her head against his in thanks. Giving them a moment alone he limped over to a table. Looking around at the destruction he saw a small bit of crimson on the floor leading from the Loader over to and behind an overturned table.

Tilting his head he inched closer, curiosity getting the better of him.

Just before he got there he herd Rika say, "_Alex stop!_"

But it was to late. Behind the table lying in a pool of blood was two bodies, a mother and her child. She was in her early to middle twenty's with long wavy brown hair, tho most of it was stained a muddy crimson by the blood. She lay curled protectively around her child, who couldn't be more than three years old. In her only visible hand Alex saw that she had a large industrial rivet gun. When properly powered it could launch a steel rivet the size of a kiwi with enough force to pierce a ships hull. Judging from the damage to the room she had obviously put up a big fight protecting her child, but she and the child both had still died in the end. In the dim glow of the light he caught sight of the mothers face.

A lone tear fell as he stared, unable to even move. She looked almost exactly like his mother did in the few memory's he had of her. If he didn't know better he would've thought they could be sisters. He hadn't thought much about her in years, to painful.

Soon tears were freely streaming down his face as the memory of the last person to care about him, other than his grandfather, flooded his mind. That was the last straw. All the stress of the last few days had been building up, but the memory had been the tipping point. He slumped to the ground and started sobbing. He couldn't think of anything else he to do.

Seeing him fall to the ground Sophie said, "_Alex. Alex!?_"

If he had herd her he gave no response.

Concerned, Rika crawled over to him and put her arms around him and whispered "_It's okay Alex, sshh._"

"I-I'm all alone, all m-my friends and coworkers are dead!" he cried into Rika's chest.

"_But we won't ever leave you, EVER._" She whispered as she held him tighter. Sophie crawled over and joined the awkward hug and added "_No, we won't._" They sat there like that, not moving or speaking. Alex was overwhelmed at how much he felt they cared over the link.

He cried into her chest for a while longer and let the feeling flow over him. Soon the need for air forced him to interrupt the moment.

"Thank you, but I can't breath." Wheezed Alex.

Looking down, the zen let him go. "_Oh, sorry are you okay?_" Sophie asked.

Coughing, Alex stood up and popped his back, "Y-yea I'm okay, I just need some time."

"Come on lets to the locker room. There should be a first-aid kit in their I can use on my ankle. There's nothing we can do for them now." Alex said as he turned to a small door across the room.

Rika watched Sophie help him to the door, but stayed back a moment longer. Looking back at the human bodies she felt a pang of sorrow and anger as she thinks "_Not the young ones. Were NEVER to hurt the young ones. Who ever did this doesn't deserve the mercy of a quick death._"

Alex opened the door and stepped into a room lined with lockers. Some of them stood open others were closed. Looking around for the med-kit he spotted it on the floor at the opposite side of the room. Sitting on the bench that ran down the room he said, "Can one of you grab that please?"

Sophie nodded and went to retrieve it. Turning to look at Rika he saw the zen on edge. Rika sat still but her tale twitched ever so slightly. He could tell something was up.

Leaning over he asked, "Whats wrong?"

Not moving she answered, "_There was a zen in here not to long ago. I cant tell if hes gone or not._"

Just then Sophie decided to return, dropping the box by his feet. Jumping in surprise Alex sent a halfhearted glare at her. "Thanks Sophie. Next time though make some noise. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Setting the box on the bench beside him he opened it and looked through it. He sat there looking into the box for a solid minute before he sighed. He had next to nothing in the way of medical experience. At most all he could do was wrap his foot in some gauze and cross his fingers. After he had done what he could he closed the kit and stood. Leaning against the lockers he hopped down the row until he reached his locker. Glancing at the locker beside his he wondered if Max had gotten out or not. He almost missed the blond haired mans annoyingly cheerful personality, emphasis on almost. Shaking his head he spun the dial on his locker. With a click he opened it and reached in and grabbed his jacket and slipped it on. Then he pulled out the most important thing he owned, his mothers necklace.

Smiling he slipped it on, his hand lingering over the crystal longer than necessary. Closing his locker he sat down on the floor with his back against the lockers and said, "So, we can wait here fore them to find us or we can continue on. Which do you want to do?"

Looking at each other they seamed to have a small conversation. Rika nodded then said, "_Lets stay here._"

Alex nodded, a little relieved at not having to go all that way with a hurt ankle. "Okay, but I want you both to hide when the rescue team gets here. At least until I convince them your not a threat."

Reluctantly they agreed. Glancing at his watch he saw they still had half an hour left until the rescue team was supposed to arrive, if he had heard the transmission right. Leaning back he closed his eyes.

The next thing he knew Rika was shaking him awake. "Hm, what?"

She looked at the ceiling. "_Somethings coming._"

Alex cocked his head and listened. It started as a faint sound like taping but soon grew into heavy footsteps.

Alex jumped up. "That's human footsteps. Their here!"

Grabbing his bag he lifted himself onto the bench.

Turning to the zen he said, "Its time to hide."

Sophie nodded and climbed into a vent. Rika took a little more persuading, but eventually gave in and followed her sister.

Smiling he waited for the team to find him. A minute later the door opened and six men entered. All of them wore normal marine armor. Upon entering the room all snapped their weapons up and looked around the room. Alex froze in place, getting shot wasn't on his list of fun things to do. Seeing that Alex was the only one in the room one man stepped forward. He looked to be in his mid thirties with a lean, muscular build. The man reached to his thigh and pulled out a handgun.

"Wait. what're you..."

Before Alex could finish there was a flash then he felt something hit him in the chest. Blinking in confusion he looked down, his eyes widening in shock. Sticking out of his chest was a small silver dart.

He starts to feels light headed as his eyelids began to grow heavy. As if in slow-motion he starts to fall towards the ground. All around him he could here muted sounds. Blurred figures moved all around him as he hit the floor. More flashing lights and muted booms then all was still.

The last thing Ales saw before everything faded to darkness was a tall figure standing over him laughing.


End file.
